Big smiles, tasty snacks, and good music! What a day our Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver annual photoshoot was!
Five matches and their families joined us in a cozy Gastown studio in downtown Vancouver on a chilly November day.
It was a busy and exciting Saturday where we, Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver staff, got to meet some of our Littles, Bigs and their families while they in turn got to meet and mingled with each other!
Seeing is believing
It’s at events like this where guardians get to not only see but partake in the activities alongside their child’s Big.
“It’s been a very positive experience,” Susan, the guardian of Little Brother Quan, said. “It warms my heart to see my son hanging out with somebody who’s a great guy and has somebody to talk to and do things with. It’s so different than what a kid can do with his mother.”
For our staff it was equally as heart-warming to meet each and every Little, Big and guardian.
“When you get to actually see in-person, you can feel the impact. You can feel the connections that the Bigs and the Littles have. You can see, and hear testimonials from the guardians, that what we do makes a true impact on real people. These are important relationship that continue to grow. It shows that as time passes the bonds strengthen and that’s what makes what we do so valuable and so important,” Teresa, our Development Officer, said of her experience at the photoshoot.
Attending a Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver event like this is a way to see the end result of all the time put in by the guardian, Little, and Big to make these friendships so valuable to everyone involved, Susan said.
“I really appreciate the process Big Brothers has in matching the guys together because I think they’re well-matched with their interests, personalities and lots of things. So obviously that process is a really significant part of the success of the friendship.”
“I’m very happy that we got involved with Big Brothers,” she, said. “It’s great to see them having so much fun together – and it’s great for Quan to have a guy who’s his male role-model and friend.”